This invention relates to a fluid dispensing applicator for crease setting compositions.
Certain garments such as shirts, particularly for uniforms, are required to be provided with creases. In particular shirts for American uniforms carry three creases on the back panel. The production of these creases is a relatively complicated and time consuming operation especially where the creases are to be set using a crease retaining method. A crease retaining method known as the `Lintrak` process is disclosed, inter alia, in GB-A-1603252 and EP-A-0067528.
An improved form of creasing press is disclosed in our co-pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 299,951 for the production of two or more creases simultaneously which comprises a bed portion for receiving the fabric to be creased, the bed devised into three or more lands, each of the lands being movable with respect to the next adjacent land, and each land being provided with means for gripping the fabric. In this latter application two or more, and in particular three, creases in, for example a shirt back panel, can be formed simultaneously rather than in the complicated sequential manner employed at present.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved form of applicator which can apply crease setting composition into two or more creases simultaneously which may be used with the creasing press of our above application although is not restricted to use therewith.
According to the present invention there is provided an applicator for a crease setting composition which comprises two or more applicator heads mounted over respective means for gripping the fabric, means for raising the applicator heads and moving them forward, means for sensing the rear edge of the fabric and causing the applicator heads to drop on to the fabric, means for moving the applicator heads backwards thereby applying a crease setting composition to the fabric, and means for sensing the front edge of the fabric whereby to discontinue application of the crease setting agent.
The improved applicator of the invention is particularly useful with creased shirt panels which have been produced by the creasing press of our above mentioned co-pending application. Such panels will bear two or three pressed in creases and accordingly the applicator will preferably have two or three applicator heads together with respective means for gripping the fabric. The latter is preferably accomplished by the provision of a porous surface connected to a source of vacuum. Advantageously the surface will be provided with a channel, groove or the like in which the crease will lie so that it may be accurately alligned with the applicator head. The latter may be one of the forms of applicator head described in our above mentioned patent publications and will preferably be operated by air pressure (e.g. as disclosed in Japanese patent publication 61-34273).
Once the creasing heads have applied the crease setting composition within the creases the fabric panel is preferably automatically removed from the means for gripping the fabric, for example by means of a retractable grabbing arm, and dropped on to a stack of previously treated panels on a stacking platform. It is an especially advantageous feature of the invention that the stacking platform may be programmed to move incrementally from side to side so that each successive panel is displaced from the former panel by a small amount thereby ensuring that the apexes of the creases of the upper panel do not nest in the creases of the panel immediately below which could cause the crease setting composition to be transferred to the outer surface of the upper panel thereby disfiguring it. Other alternative ways of preventing unwanted transference of composition may be employed. For example, the panels could be hung vertically or placed on a conveyor which displaces by one pitch between each successive panel or the panels could be interleaved with release paper.